Resource of the Week: Teenagers & Sexual Violence Fact Sheet
February is teen dating violence awareness month. As one of the populations in our community that is at high risk for experiencing sexual assault, harassment, rape, and other forms of sexual abuse, it’s important that we all know how prevalent sexual violence is amongst teen populations.
Based on national statistics, nearly 50% of teens have experience sexual harassment. Teens are most likely to be affected by sexual assault by someone who they know, rather than a stranger. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, “Nationally, about 8% or 10 million girls and 0.7% or 791,000 boys under the age of 18 have experienced either rape or attempted rape.”
You should know too, that different identities lead to higher risk of experiencing sexual violence. Teen homelessness, LGBTQ+ identity, living with a disability, and race/ ethnicity are all risk factors associated with higher rates of sexual abuse.
SARCC offers a number of programs that focus on helping teens build skills for healthy relationships. Whether it is a general awareness-raising program, fast facts on human trafficking, Sexting and digital sexual exploitation, or the nuances of sexual assault, it’s important that teens have access to this information. Sexual violence thrives in silence, and not sharing this information with a population who’s already experiencing sexual trauma does not help prevent it.
What does help to prevent sexual assault, harassment, and abuse is building skills for prevention. SARCC programs like the SAFET programs, project, SELFIE, and bringing in the bystander all focus on building, both knowledge and skills for effective by standard intervention amongst teams. Would you like to learn more about how you can bring one of these programs to your school or organization? Contact info@SARCCheals.org.
